2013 LAVENDER Wedding Issue // Minnesota Marriage Equality

The latest issue of LAVENDER Magazine is officially on newsstands and I am SUPER happy to have been a part of this shoot! This issue is the 2013 Wedding Issue for the magazine, and I was chosen to collaborate with some AMAZING people to really elevate the presence of gay marriage in our city and photograph the fashion editorial. Obviously, same-sex marriage is a hot topic at the moment, and a movement that I really believe in. I was over the moon with the idea of creating imagery to promote marriage equality and I hope you are as pleased with the outcome as I! Below are images from the LAVENDER Online Issue and you can grab a copy in print - literally - all around town! The issue is only on newsstands for a few weeks, so check it out before they are all gone! Of course, no shoot happens without an amazing team behind me. This was a major production, with two days of shooting, in two very different locations. We photographed the women at The Union Depot in downtown St. Paul and then moved the crew back to Minneapolis at The Bachelor Farmer to photograph the men.  Style Architects put together the wardrobe and set styling, which featured some fabulous companies, including: Ignite Models Inc., Gateaux Inc, Martha's Garden, L'atelier Couture, Realia by Jen, On Solid Ground Vintage Rentals, Roe Wolfe, BeThings, Saima Says Design, Heimie's Haberdashery, Martin Patrick 3, Hammermade and more!  In addition to the photographs, Chris Wegner also came along to create two amazing behind-the-scenes videos for you to check out:

LAVENDER Wedding Shoot // Day 1

LAVENDER Wedding Shoot // Day 2

Behind The Scenes // Lavender Shoot

This year, I was asked to photograph a fashion editorial for Lavender Magazine's upcoming wedding issue. The prospect of legalizing gay marriage in Minnesota is on the horizon, so this is a very exciting project to be a part of! The shoot took place over two days, and we had an amazing crew of people to work with, including Style Architects, The Bachelor Farmer and The Union Depot - just to name a few! The issue is printing, as we speak, so I'll share more when it rolls out on news stands. In the mean time, Thea Volk, took some awesome behind-the-scene photos of our crew that turned out to be so much fun...I simply had to share!

Cana // Look 2

Cana // Look 1

Metro Magazine // The Cocktail Feature

As many of you know in Minneapolis, a couple of weeks ago, one of the city's finest magazines announced it will be closing it's doors. METRO Magazine has been one of my best clients since day one of it's launch and it's a little bittersweet seeing it go. Why bittersweet? Well for starters, I had a blast on every assignment with the magazine. Seriously, I couldn't have asked for better opportunities and a better crew to work with, than all of the art directors, editors and writers on the METRO staff. Also, as the decline of print editorial started taking it's toll, everyone knew the end might be coming; however, our crew still came together to try and re-define what the readers wanted and give them something special every month! It's always sad to see something so great leave a city, but this is also a time for change. Minnesota Monthly seems to be making some fun changes and there's also a new fine-art-based magazine, called Thirty Two that could do some great things for our local market as well! To everyone I worked with on METRO projects over the years: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

In the August issue of Metro Magazine, I had one last hoo-rah with the staff, which was photographing a drink feature. The article was all about how to throw your own swanky cocktail party at home! We had so much fun during this shoot and I wanted to share a few more images with you than what was printed.

CREDITS//

Photography: Eliesa Johnson

Set Styling: Style Architects

Wardrobe Styling: Faith Brue of Style Architects

Bar Accessories and Bowties: Martin Patrick 3

Flower Arrangements: Spruce Flowers and Home

Coasters &  Mini Notebooks: Paperista

HERLife Magazine // Amy James K102

Smooth Criminals // Part Deux

I was invited back this year to photograph these gorgeous men...enjoy!

Metro Magazine // North Minneapolis, 1 Year Later

One year ago, North Minneapolis was hit by a tornado that was pretty devastating to the community.  North is probably one of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in our city that could have been hit and I had the great honor of taking on this assignment to document the people and neighborhoods of devastation, one year after the tornado. I understand that North gets a bad wrap. Because of our media, everyone thinks that North is all about poverty, drugs and shootings. However, I experienced a completely different side of the people here. I highly, highly encourage you all to go out and pick up an issue of Metro, if not for any other reason thank to read this article. It's solid and it's real. In fact, I'm pretty proud of the writers and Metro for publishing something a little controversial. The feature hits all of the key points, different perspectives on the clean-up of North and how it has effected the community. Yet, the fact still stands that one year later, there are still families in shelters, blue tarps on the roofs and uprooted trees that haven't been dealt with. On a personal note, while shooting this story, I took one of my all-time-favorite pictures...ever. I wandered into the old Broadway Liquors one day, not thinking that anyone was inside, but I found a little boy, probably about 10 years old, who was devoting his spring break to cleaning up the store. In fact, there were several children lending their support to clean up their community on this day and it was quite inspirational. Not only did the people of North open up their homes to me, but they also shared their perspective and thoughts on how much of a struggle the last year has been. I think one of my subjects, Jeriland Spence said it best, " There's no calvary coming to the Northside. The thing that has to be done here needs to come from within."

Photographing this story definitely changed my entire view of the people and community of North Minneapolis. My hope is that for every terrible news story you hear about this neighborhood, that you remember and realize how many good people are working to rebuild the Northside into a positive place.

If you are interested in helping the people of North Minneapolis re-build, here's a link to donate to: The Northside Home Fund

Metro Magazine // Female Body Builders

My very first job as a photographer was for a newspaper. This is where I totally fell in love with the idea of doing this for the rest of my life. I loved being on assignment, rushing to meet a deadline and sharing my images with a community on a daily basis. This also meant that I was critiqued by an entire community on a daily basis, which was one of the best experiences I could have had right off the bat. As time has gone on, it seems like more of the commercial and editorial work I've been getting hired for is a little more glamorous, a little more controlled and very scheduled. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but when I got a call from the Art Director over at Metro about this story (and another I'll be blogging about tomorrow), I was instantly in love...I was back on assignment! In the current issue of Metro Magazine, I have two stories that are very documentary. The first is all about female body builders and their lives. Beyond the group shot that was published, I tried to get to every woman's home/work life, as well as their gym time. It was fascinating to learn about their lifestyle, routines and very calculated schedules to get ready for competition. Each of the women I photographed were in training and 'leaning out' over the course of several weeks to be in-shape, and as we imagine body-builders being! It was also kind of nice to know that these women aren't always at 1% body fat and that they do enjoy a giant bowl of pasta! The coolest thing I took away from being with these ladies was their sense of community and encouragement amongst competitors. Most of these women know each other, share trainers and are true friends, beyond the stage!

Of course, in the pages of the magazine, only a few photos make-the-cut to get published, so I wanted to share more of the story of being a female body builder! Enjoy!

Greenwich Vintage // Made in America

As I've mentioned before in earlier blog posts, my test shoots are taking a different approach these days. I'm taking a more environmental-portraiture approach to everything - whether that be documentary work, editorials, campaigns or fashion.  A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to document the men of Greenwich Vintage. If you haven't heard of them, pay attention. I first heard of Greenwich exactly they way I was supposed to - thru word of mouth. What I learned is that:

1) There was this super cool vintage store that sold impeccable finds in menswear.

2) Everything was made in America.

3) It was underground and by appointment only.

I immediately loved the mystery behind this company and wanted to experience the shop. Greenwich is owned by Zen - The Fresh Maker / Master Cobbler, Mustache Mike - Master Barber, and Max - the CFO. They are some of the coolest dudes around that work incredibly hard to curate the best vintage menswear for their store. They are also working on creating products of their own under the Greenwich label.

Personally, I am super excited to see where Zen, Mike and Max take Greenwich and there is no doubt in my mind that they are both leader and game-changers in their industry.

Along with the test shoot, I'm testing out some new video people as well! Special thanks to Corey for putting together this fun behind-the-scenes video!